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The event, which is the first of its kind held in the region was attended by officials, businessmen and academics from both countries, the Indonesian Embassy in Moscow said in a press statement received by an Antara correspondent based in London on Sunday.The Indonesian officials and businessmen included Bondowoso District Head Amin Said Husni, Sidoarjo District Head Saiful Ilah, Head of the East Java Provincial Investment and Integrated One-Stop Service Office Lili Soleh Wartadipraja, and Chief of the Jakarta Chapter of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) Eddy Kuntadi.Deputy Chief of the Indonesian Mission Lasro Simbolon representing the Indonesian ambassador to Russia led the Indonesian delegation to the forum.In his opening address to the forum, he noted that bilateral cooperation between Russia and Indonesia in the fields of economy, trade, investment and strategic industry has increased following a meeting between Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Sochi in May last year.Hence, this business forum is expected to serve as an important step to promote Indonesia's economic excellence, introduce a series of economic policy packages in the fields of investment and foreign trade and bring Indonesian businessmen closer to their partners in Russia, particularly the Russia Far East.Trade between Indonesia and Russia rose significantly by 33.6 percent in 2016 to US$2.6 billion. Many Russian companies are investing in the oil and gas, mining, agricultural and fisheries sectors in Indonesia.